Best Flooring for Welding Shop

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I am going to build a shop with a concrete floor.  I know a lot of guys will buff the concrete then seal it afterwards in their shops to keep spills etc from soaking into the concrete.  Would the welding, grinding etc ruin that type of a finish?What is the best, most durable way to seal/finish concrete if you are going to be welding, plasma cutting etc above it?
Reply:I'd imagine an expoxy sealer will get damaged by hot slag,  not necessarily sparks though.
Reply:Steel plate... then you can weld anywhere!
Reply:We used to use a really great urethane clear seal for stamped concrete that resisted just about all spills. Sadly when the feds started requiring low VOC sealers the good stuff didn't qualify any longer and they stopped making it. The newer stuff doesn't resist some liquids as well.I've never seen epoxies that held up in the long run. The only way you will have any chance is if the floor is spotless when it goes down. Even then if they got a bunch of dirt worked into the pours of the crete during construction, there a  high chance it will separate.Note that a hard burned in steel trowel finish is one of the most durable surfaces. It's also uber slippery when wet, especially if you coat it with something..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:2" of dry sand. Stuff doesn't splash off it much or run far, it doesn't burn, you can dampen it if you raise too much dust and its easy on your feet. Downside is almost nothing rolls on it and sooner or later your going to have find a place to dispose of it. Depending on what you are doing a small dedicated area or tray under your flame/arc processes could work.---Meltedmetal
Reply:All my life I worked either in the mud, or the deck of a barge. Never any problems with either one. So I vote mud or steel plate. Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:I just went through this in my new shop.  2/3 of the shop has multiple layers of epoxy with a urethane coat on top.  Each layer new layer is laid as soon as the previous layer can be walked on so it is a chemical bond between layers.  The limiting factor is still the bond to the crete under it.  The urethane topcoat is supposed to help with scratching, but it takes up to 6 months to fully cure so there are plenty of scratches in it already.The other 1/3 was sealed with a product i believe is called diamondhard.  It is a sealant with no topcoat.  Used that in the welding area so that slag and sparks don't damage it.The most important factor in all of it is how it is prepped and applied.  Unfortunately the contractor my landlord hired was not so good so I will be redoing it all in a few years I am sure.  At least it looked ok for a few days and I didn't pay because it was far beyond a comedy of errors.Multimatic 200Ellis 1800Haberle S225 9" cold sawMM 300;  Spoolmate 30A w/ WC-24TB 302GDynasty 280 DX Tigrunner
Reply:Just plain old bare cement floor. I use E85 from dumb customers cars to clean the floor.12v battery, jumper cables, and a 6013.I only have a facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/pages/VPT/244788508917829
Reply:Siloxane sealer, it penetrates and hardens the concrete and won't burn off if something spills on it.
Reply:Beware of an epoxy floor covering.They look nice when new.  My wife and I, at her insistence, had a contractor do an epoxy coating on the garage where I was learning how to weld.  The molten steel and slag burnt a hole in the expensive epoxy and now I can no longer weld in the workshop. The workshop just got too pretty to work in.I offer three choices: Good, Fast, & Cheap. You may pick two.Hobart AC/DC StikMate LXHarbor Freight AD HoodHarbor Freight Industrial Chop SawDeVilbis 20 Gallon, 5 HP Compressor
Reply:Boiled linseed oil was popular for a long time.
Reply:There is a dry powder product that goes on after the first screeding but before any trowel work is done that is the hardest finish that I have ever seen. Master Plate is one brand of it and it has held up as a floor coating in Firestone retail tire stores and has looked good for over 20 years with just cleaning with concrete cleaner. Expensive but durable. You might try contracting the mfg to see if they recommend it for welding splatter etc. But everything that could drop on a floor as solvents physical damage (hammer drops etc) has not done much damage to this floor covering.
Reply:Originally Posted by nadogailBeware of an epoxy floor covering.The workshop just got too pretty to work in.
Reply:Originally Posted by mwshawThere is a dry powder product that goes on after the first screeding but before any trowel work is done that is the hardest finish that I have ever seen. Master Plate is one brand of it and it has held up as a floor coating in Firestone retail tire stores and has looked good for over 20 years with just cleaning with concrete cleaner. Expensive but durable. You might try contracting the mfg to see if they recommend it for welding splatter etc. But everything that could drop on a floor as solvents physical damage (hammer drops etc) has not done much damage to this floor covering.
Reply:Steel impregnated into the concrete. This is the type of floor they had at the tech school in all the welding rooms. I'm not sure if it was iron filings or what but they said it would stop the concrete from exploding from hot slag and/or sparks. Concrete pops and spalls because moisture pockets in it explode. I think the steel in it prevents this from happening.
Reply:best floor i have ever seen was my cousins shophe did a 3/4inch steel plate floor think 40x60  you can drive a dozer in woth ice cleats spin it around inside and drive out without hurting that floorHigh Octane Welding
Reply:And you think concrete is expensive!
Reply:i bet eh i never asked what he spent on it lolHigh Octane Welding
Reply:The big high end Red iron shop across town moved into new digs 2 years ago,  made a big deal about having a no expenses spared epoxy floor put into the the new shop.    well in the last 24 months the floor looks like haggard Bhole.    Did not hold up well at all. granted they are a big outfit that moves a couple hundred thosand pounds of iron a month, so take that for what its worth.Vantage 500's LN-25's, VI-400's, cobramatics, Miller migs, synch 350 LX, Powcon inverters, XMT's, 250 Ton Acurrpress 12' brake, 1/4" 10' Atlantic shear,Koikie plasma table W/ esab plasmas. marvel & hyd-mech saws, pirrana & metal muncher punches.
Reply:lapidolith
Reply:Originally Posted by CEPAll my life I worked either in the mud, or the deck of a barge. Never any problems with either one. So I vote mud or steel plate.
Reply:I would not recommend Epoxy because it won't last. I once did epoxy flooring through a Mississauga based garage floor coating company called Proseal Concrete Floor Care Systems. The coating was very good but, it was not good for a welding garage. Now I have changed the flood with steel. I haven't tried mud and steel together! So far, steel has been good  !
Reply:I've only ever worked on plain concrete and after seeing what lands on the floor, slag, spatter, plasma cutter "stuff", I'd never put anything on it because it would just get trashed. Sure it has oil stains from working on antique tractors but the way I look at it, it's a barn floor, not a show room.My "collection":Homemade Stick WelderVictor O/A TorchAC 225Ideal Arc 250HF 90 Amp Flux CoreHF Mig 170Solar 2020 Plasma CutterPower i-Mig 140EHarris O/A torchHF Dual Mig 131140STAlpha Tig 200x
Reply:Originally Posted by abecbest floor i have ever seen was my cousins shophe did a 3/4inch steel plate floor think 40x60  you can drive a dozer in woth ice cleats spin it around inside and drive out without hurting that floor
Reply:Originally Posted by VPTJust plain old bare cement floor. I use E85 from dumb customers cars to clean the floor.I also spent big money on The Sherwin Williams epoxy and 2 weekends shotblasting and cleaning.  3 years later it still looks good.  No scratches or peeling.  The only difference between you and me is that I haven't done much work in the shop since then.  I never will do any welding or cutting in there without some sort of booth with a metal floor.Century buzzbox that I learned on 40+ years ago (was Dad's)Crappy Century 110volt mig 70 amp pigeon pooper.Lincoln Idealarc TIG-300